The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-06-22

Dutch. The Portuguese have an unim-
portant settlement called Lorenzo Marques,
and the Dutch have an independent coll
ony known as the Orange Free State, but
by far the greater portion of South Africa
is under British rule. The Transvaal,
however, though British colony, is essen
TALLY Dutch, having practically indie
pendent government in the form OF re-
public, with Pres dent and Legislative
Assembly. The two most important colo
MES of South Africa are the Cape of Good
Hope, including Griqualand West, with its
famous diamond fields, and Natal. Both of
these are thoroughly British and have the
black population in complete subsection.
The Cape is the only colony which has
hitherto taken any reliable census, the re-
suits in 1880 being as follows:
White males lZ5,9l0
Mlie aein ,fd ,,;oic o;,d s4S soI
Total OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. ,O60.0s4
Everybody, almost, enters South Africa
at Cape Town, which is fine city Of
$4,000 or more souls. It's seaport is Table
Bay, Immediately adjacent, where are fine
and commodious docks. The city is we'll
built and contains many handsome public
buildings. Since | was there the new Par
lament buildings have been erected at a
cost of six hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars. Locomotion is served by a goodly
supply of cabs and omnibuses, street.
car line and subulb ban steam railroad.
There are theaters and other places of
amusement, and every variety of business
is represented.
The other important towns in the Cape
Colony are Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown,
and King Williams Town, the latter being
the British military headquarters, as we'll
as the headquarters of the Cape Mounted
Police, fine body of 1,2O0 men.
The colony of Natal, on the east, con-
tains only about 20, COO Europeans, and the
consequence is that there are fewer towns,
while those that exist are only small.
There are but two worth mentioning
Maritzburg. the capital, with a population
of 5000, and Durham, the chief seaport,
containing 5000 people. =
AT present locomot on in the interior is
rather tedious, being performed chiefly by
oX-teams. Good time is made By the mail
carts, but that method of travelling is ex-
pensIve, the journey from Cape Town to
the Diamond Fields of Griqualand West
costing as much as 1926. The roads,
however, are good. aud on the principal
routes the rivers and mountains are spanned
by first-class bridges.
Already. however. nearly thousand
miles of railroad are in operation, and
the Cape Parliament has recently voted
thirty-five million dollars for more rail-
roads.
The telegraph system of South Africa.
although not perfect, is of wide extent,
and reaches to most of the principal towns, \
In travelling from Cape Town to Preto>S
ria, n the Transvaal, a distance of ope
thousand miles, partly by rail and chiefly
by wagon, 1 had plenty of opportunity to
"size up" the country. The appearance Of
South Africa, of course, varies very great
ly. IL has its coast and marine views and
its inland aspects. Mountain ranges sue
coed each other in ascending steps to the
plains through which the Orange River
sweeps. The great want of the inland
scenery is water. Lakes are unknown, and
the rivers are for the most part hidden
away beneath deep banks. Indeed, the in
terror of the Cape Colony is not remarka-
BILE for loneliness. There is another want
besides that of water--trees. With the
growth Of population, however. this will all
be changed. Water saving and tree plant
ing are becoming fashionable, and when
households are more numerous and time
has done its work. the ueliest part of the
Cape will bear different look.